All structural steel comes with a set of properties that determines how suitable it is for certain projects and functions. Some of the properties looked at in structural steel are its strength, weldibability, toughness, pliability, its resistance to corrosion, and its moldability. These properties determine how well steel performs and functions.
What is High Performance Steel?
High performance steel is simply steel that is enhanced to give it optimum performance while being cost affective. High performance steel is enhanced in order to better its qualities. Qualities that are enhanced are things such as its strength, weldability, pliability, and its resistance to corrosion.
Why Use High Performance Steel?
There are a couple of reasons why using high performance steel is beneficial for a project. Since this steel offers high performance in vital areas, they generally result in smaller steel pieces being used. This results in lighter structures all together.
High performance steel is significantly stronger than regular steel that is typically used in construction. This adds higher strength and safety to any project using this type of steel.
Toughness is another property that is enhanced in high performance steel. The toughness of high-performance steel is significantly greater than regular steel typically used in construction sites. This toughness helps prevent and control brittle fracture and failure in the structure being built. It also has a higher crack tolerance. A higher crack tolerance in the steel gives professionals more time to see and repair any cracks that begin to form in the steel. This extra time helps the structure be more durable and safer.
Another property that is improved upon is the weldability of the steel. High performance steels aims to avoid hydrogen induced cracking. Hydrogen induced cracking is when the steel begins to blister because of high concentration of hydrogen caused during the welding process. When the cracks are small, they are a cause of no concern, however, if the steel is not strong enough it may become dangerous in the long run.
High performance steel also has better resistance to corrosion than regular structural steel. This is important because the cost of maintenance of the structure will reduce significantly. This type of steel also has greater heat resistance.
What is High Performance Steel Used For?
High performance steel is mainly used for the construction of bridges. However, its fibres can be added to concrete for projects that require high-flexural fatigue strength and high-wear resistance. These fibres can be added in the construction of heavy duty floors and roads, and for slope stabilization and precast applications. The fibres added to the concrete increase the tensile strength of the material.
Traditional structural steel comes with long term expenses. The maintenance cost of traditional structural steel is higher than high performance steel because it needs to be painted and the rust needs to be removed various times during the structures lifetime. Pieces might need to be replaced if the steels condition is not up to standard. High performance steel cuts all of these costs due to its enhanced properties. Contact us and find out if high performance steel is right for your project.
